STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ROBERT D. CLIFTON
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
Assemblywoman NANCY F. MUNOZ
District 21 (Morris, Somerset and Union)
Assemblywoman BETTYLOU DECROCE
District 26 (Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Handlin
SYNOPSIS
Urges NJT to provide locations for telecommuting during repairs to New York Pennsylvania Station and construction of new trans-Hudson rail tunnel.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution urging the New Jersey Transit Corporation to provide locations for telecommuting during the repairs to New York Pennsylvania Station and the construction of the new trans-Hudson rail tunnel.
Whereas, Built in 1910, the Hudson River rail tunnel is essential to local and regional economies and the daily transportation of people into and out of the City of New York and is a critical rail passenger crossing between New Jersey and New York Pennsylvania Station (Penn Station); and
Whereas, The Hudson River rail tunnel is one of the busiest sections of the Northeast Corridor, which connects Washington, D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts and facilitates the movement of approximately 200,000 passengers per day; and
Whereas, The Hudson River rail tunnel’s aging infrastructure and the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy have severely limited the years of viability that remain, which have necessitated emergency tunnel repairs throughout recent years that have caused long delays to the rail service provided by the New Jersey Transit Corporation (New Jersey Transit); and
Whereas, Amtrak, which is the infrastructure manager of the Northeast Corridor and owns Penn Station, estimates that the Hudson River rail tunnel has approximately 10 to 20 years of service left and that each of the Hudson River rail tunnel’s tubes will need to be shut down for more than one year to rebuild and replace the tunnel’s components, which will dramatically reduce trans-Hudson rail capacity in the short-term by 75 percent and, as a result, future service delays may become inevitable; and
Whereas, Recently, Amtrak has proposed the inclusion of a new trans-Hudson rail tunnel, in the larger rail transportation project known as the Gateway Program, which will increase rail capacity in the long-term along the Northeast Corridor and accommodate future rail passenger demand for both Amtrak and New Jersey Transit; and
Whereas, If started immediately, construction of a new tunnel and replacement of the existing tunnel would take at least 10 years, which, given the existing tunnel’s condition, could lead to delays and significant schedule disruptions in New Jersey Transit rail service until the project’s completion; and
Whereas, Following two train derailments at Penn Station, Amtrak announced that it will conduct a series of emergency track repairs and switch renewal projects at Penn Station, in an effort to prevent derailments, which will require Amtrak to close several tracks at Penn Station for days or weeks at a time and reduce the capacity at Penn Station; and
Whereas, Penn Station, which is the busiest train station in America and recorded a ridership of over 10 million passengers in 2016, accommodates more than 450 trains operated by New Jersey Transit per day that provide commuter service to New Jersey rail passengers; and
Whereas, The announcement of the repairs has led to New Jersey Transit anticipating minimum delays of 15 minutes on weekdays and 30 minutes on weekends in New Jersey Transit rail service for an indefinite period of time, which may result in longer commutes for many rail passengers in New Jersey; and
Whereas, As cities have grown and highway congestion has increased, the Northeast Corridor, the Hudson River rail tunnel, and Penn Station have become critical in the connection of commuter rail systems, including New Jersey Transit, to the central business districts within cities that impact the nation’s economy; and
Whereas, It is critical during this period of repair and reconstruction to some of the region’s most important pieces of rail infrastructure that New Jersey Transit provide an alternative, which should consist of a telecommuting location or locations that are equipped with internet access to be used as work space, for New Jersey Transit rail passengers who may be unable to reach their places of work due to the severe delays in rail service caused by the repairs and reconstruction; and
Whereas, With the potential economic impact that limiting the capacity of Penn Station and the Hudson River Rail tunnel will have on the New Jersey and regional economies, it is in the best interest of rail passengers in New Jersey and the region for this House to urge New Jersey Transit to provide locations for telecommuting during the repairs to Penn Station and the construction of the new trans-Hudson rail tunnel; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House respectfully urges the New Jersey Transit Corporation to provide locations at which New Jersey Transit Corporation customers may access the internet in order to telecommute to work during the repairs to New York Pennsylvania Station and the construction of the new trans-Hudson rail tunnel.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the Governor of the State of New Jersey, the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation, and the Executive Director of the New Jersey Transit Corporation.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the New Jersey Transit Corporation (New Jersey Transit) to provide locations for telecommuting during the repairs to New York Pennsylvania Station (Penn Station) and the construction of the new trans-Hudson rail tunnel.
The Hudson River rail tunnel and Penn Station have become critical in the connection of New Jersey Transit to the central business districts that impact the nation’s economy. Therefore, it is critical during this period of repair and reconstruction to some of the region’s most important pieces of rail infrastructure that New Jersey Transit provide an alternative, which should consist of a telecommuting location or locations that are equipped with internet access to be used as work space, for New Jersey Transit rail passengers who may be unable to reach their places of work due to the severe delays in rail service caused by the repairs and reconstruction.